Tuesday, April 5, 2011

In Over My Head

Have you watched that show on HGTV called “Over Your Head”? If not, it’s a show where a professional from HGTV saves someone from a DIY disaster.

Wonder if they have this show for furniture disasters?

I purchased this chair at the Salvation Army for $7...

The lady in line behind me was purchasing a book about Leonard DiCaprio. Her son (probably about 10 years old) kept asking if Leo was dead. Man, I feel old.

Who got the better deal....me or DiCaprio book lady?? The verdict is still out.

I knew this chair was going to be more difficult than other chairs I have tackled because it’s a wingback. It was just too pretty to pass up and I was feeling pretty adventurous that day. I figured that I’d only be out $7 if it didn’t work out.

I brought it home and tried to tear it apart…..it was hard. This chair is a beast. I usually tackle furniture projects on my own but I called in reinforcement on this one…in the form of Nate.

He used his man powers to start ripping off the 100000 million trillion staples….this chair was upholstered well. He ripped most of it off and told me I was on my own with my craziness. Seems fair.

After removing the fabric from the seat cushion, I left the project like this…

I need some time to recuperate. We already have about 30 minutes of destroying time in this chair. I’m excited to sand and prime the chair but I’m extremely nervous about reupholstering it. I have found some decent tutorials on-line and will give it a shot next week-end…which means this post is….to be continued!

Have you tackled something that was “over your head”? How’d it turn out?

Have you reupholstered a wing back chair? Any tips?

Do you think the Leonardo DiCaprio book lady got a better deal? It's okay. I can take it...

Have you watched that show on HGTV called “Over Your Head”? If not, it’s a show where a professional from HGTV saves someone from a DIY disaster.

Wonder if they have this show for furniture disasters?

I purchased this chair at the Salvation Army for $7...

The lady in line behind me was purchasing a book about Leonard DiCaprio. Her son (probably about 10 years old) kept asking if Leo was dead. Man, I feel old.

Who got the better deal....me or DiCaprio book lady?? The verdict is still out.

I knew this chair was going to be more difficult than other chairs I have tackled because it’s a wingback. It was just too pretty to pass up and I was feeling pretty adventurous that day. I figured that I’d only be out $7 if it didn’t work out.

I brought it home and tried to tear it apart…..it was hard. This chair is a beast. I usually tackle furniture projects on my own but I called in reinforcement on this one…in the form of Nate.

He used his man powers to start ripping off the 100000 million trillion staples….this chair was upholstered well. He ripped most of it off and told me I was on my own with my craziness. Seems fair.

After removing the fabric from the seat cushion, I left the project like this…

I need some time to recuperate. We already have about 30 minutes of destroying time in this chair. I’m excited to sand and prime the chair but I’m extremely nervous about reupholstering it. I have found some decent tutorials on-line and will give it a shot next week-end…which means this post is….to be continued!

Have you tackled something that was “over your head”? How’d it turn out?

Have you reupholstered a wing back chair? Any tips?

Do you think the Leonardo DiCaprio book lady got a better deal? It's okay. I can take it...

I just finished a chair that is almost exactly like that. I used outdoor material, so it was really sturdy. I held the material (good side out) on the back and stapled it extremely tight. I then got a piece of foam the exact size of the back of the chair and hot glue my material to it. Then I gorilla glued it. I actually used wire cutters and cut the mesh out of the sides too. The bottom is easy to finish. Foam, material and stapler. It took me about 2 hours to take the chair apart. The rest was gravy. Good luck. Let me know if you need any help.

Haha, this post is hilarious. Don't you love it when you have those "old" moments? Your chair is beautiful, it will turn out great. I am counting on blog tutorials to turn my new goodwill chair into something fabulous too. For $7 purchase price you have to try, right?

You're not over your head. You always make awesome things. Speaking of over your head.....remember that rocking chair I told you about? I've already spent almost triple what I spent on it getting the items that I need to strip the varnish. And I'm already tired. I have stripped the easy parts and now I'm thinking I should have just painted it. :o) Oh well. This project will get finished if it's the last thing I do!! Good luck with the chair!